Ok, so a LOT has happened since my last blog, and I’m not sure where to begin, but the most significant events were my cruise and my departure from Galapagos. I guess I may need to change the name of my blog, as I’m now on the continent!
Samba Cruise! The cruise was spectacular, and I don’t know anyone can go to Galapagos without going on one! I was lucky as I got a good deal because I knew the owner of the Samba, and I only attended 7 of the 8 days of the cruise.
Day 1 – (Santa Cruz: Highlands) I joined the group for lunch on the boat, and after we went to los gemelos. I was happy about this as it was one of the few places in Santa Cruz I’d not yet seen. Well, turns out we got a terrible and rainy day, so this is all I got to see.
[Los Gemelos, what you can see of this one crater anyway]
After that, we went to the tortoise farm, which was my second time there, but the first time we saw nothing, and this time we saw the lava tunnels and tons of tortoises, also in the rain.
[Lava tunnels and tortoises on the Steve Divine Farm].
Day 2 – (Española: Gardner Bay/Punta Suarez) After a rough first night of navigation, and being up most the night to keep from rolling off the top bunk, waking up to the sound of dropping anchor wasn’t welcome, but the view of Española in the morning was well worth it! I must say, however, the smell on this beach was more pungent than you could imagine!
[Piles of sea lions & two mamas nursing]
[Victoria and Michael w/baby sea lion & lone sea pup]
[Sea lion waiving at the camera]
The snorkeling was great, I got mixed w/another gorup as I saw people rapidly swimming to see something, which turned out to be white tip sharks (tinureras). I ended up being the last one in as the group was waiting on me. On our way to Punta Suarez, we saw some bottle-nose dolphins, as I had requested of the captain, and he even appeased followed them so we could get a closer look! It was great!
[bottle nose dolphin, they were so fast and loved to swim alongside the boat]
When on land, we saw the coolest “Christmas Iguanas” so called for their red and green colors. Brilliant!
[Christmas iguanas (this is one of my favorite pictures of the whole cruise!)]
We saw tons of animals, including the Galapagos Hawks, the very last of this season’s Waved Albatross birds, plus some chicks of the Nasca and Blue footed boobies.
[Waved Albatross baby and adult]
[Galapagos Hawks & blow hole]
[Nasca Boobies & chick-they usually have 2 chicks, and siblingcide occurs when one chick kills the other, this is because the mom has to fly about 40km to fetch food, and is unable to feed 2 chicks...mother nature at work]
[Blue Footed Boobies & chicks, notice the younger sibling w/it's wing on it's bigger brother]
[Sea lion corps with the rarely seen Galapagos snake]
The sea lions here were also adorable, and we surprisingly got chased by one! If only I had the picture of our guide, Josie, running towards us and away from the angry male!
[Angry male sea lion chasing our guide, and a playful sea lion]
[Me before a deep sea snorkel, and the sunset]
Day 3 – (Floreana: Punta Cormorant/Post Office Bay)Up early, of course, and awoke at Punta Cormorant in Floreana. We saw flamingos in the pond, and then off to a nice beach where there are turtles and stingrays, so we couldn’t go swimming.
[Devil's Crown (snorkel site) and the wet landing on the beach]
[Flamingos & a hermit crab]
We saw turtle tracks/nests though, that was cool.
[Turtle tracks and nests and me on the forbidden swimming beach]
Then, we headed to Post Office Bay, where we saw the Pirate Barrel, and heard the scandalous story of the Witmers. There we waited for the crew to finish their soccer match against another ship’s crew.
[Crew playing soccer, and Post Office Bay]
We also saw the Bryde Whales for the first time today! Good stuff!
[Bryde Whale]
[View from our boat when the sail was up, and the sunset]
Day 4 – (West Isabela: Punto Moreno/Elizabeth Bay) At Punto Moreno we saw the flightless cormorants, penguins and on the island, we saw lots of lava with mini oasis of green and animals.
[School of penguins and shot of Elizabeth Bay from the panga]
[Baby and adult flightless Cormorants]
[This part of Western Isabela was nearly all lava rock, but in the middle of nowhere, you might find a little patch of green or a cactus]
[Elizabeth Bay panga ride]
Later, we went snorkeling with the turtles, tons of them. It was amazing, but sadly, my underwater camera didn’t take great pix.
[Sea turtle on snorkel]
Later, we went on a panga ride of Elizabeth Bay, excellent! We saw schools of penguins, and some swimming around our panga!
[Too cute, penguins!]
We saw the biggest mangroves I’ve ever seen!
[Crazy big mangroves!]
Oh, and let’s not forget the tree lions!
["Tree" lion]
That night we sat around the table after dinner bonding, talking of other travel stories. Great group of people, not one unlikeable person in the bunch!
Day 5 – (Western Isabela/Fernandina: Urbina Bay/Punta Espinoza) We had a wet landing at Urbina Bay where we encountered loads of sea turtle nests, super cool!
[Turtle tracks and nests...super cool sight!]
Here we got to see the land iguanas, which are normally quite scarce, but we fortunately got to see quite a few!
[Land iguanas, this species is endangered]
[Humping grasshoppers and some cool plant, who's name I don't recall, that can be used to stop bug bite itching, or for an adhesive]
From here, we snorkeled from the beach, and got to see tons more turtles, and I even saw a lobster! Next, we headed to Punta Espinoza, where we found a maimed turtle, who was missing the front right flipper. It was stranded in shallow water, but no worries, high tide would allow it to return to the sea.
[Turtle with missing flipper, pobre]
This place is amazing, we saw iguanas mating, very violent for the hembre!
[Mating iguanas, it's really violent! Another cormorant]
Saw some heron, flightless cormorants, penguins, and even what the guides believe is a migrant turtle from Papua New Guinea, beautiful site!
[Turtle thought to be migrating from Papua New Guniea, another super cute picture of a sea lion and whale bones]
We also saw another Galapagos Hawk, tree iguanas, more of my favorite, the sea lions, and whale bones!
[Lost engine and "tree" iguanas]
There was also this cool sight of a boat engine that sunk many years ago! And let’s not foget about the Common Dolphins we saw! They were too far to really catch on camera, but suffice it to say that there were hundreds, all along the horizon from left to right, as far as the eye could see!
[These are the common dolphins, which were very difficult to photograph]
This was also the day we would cross the equator, for the first time.
[Crossing the equator! Me driving the boat for about 5 minutes]
My pal Michael and I took turns driving!
Day 6 – (Santiago/Bartolome) In Santiago, we landed on a cool beach with a great rock formation, and lots of sea lions.
[Landing in Santiago]
Got to play with the tree finches where loving my zoom lens, and even sat on it to say hello!
[Tree finch that loved my zoom lens!]
We then went to the grottos where we saw sea lions and fur sea lions. It was so much fun to watch them play in what looked like the kids pool!
[Fur sea lions & grotto]
We also saw “Darwin’s Toilet” which was this cool whirlpool of water rising and falling.
[Darwin's toilet, a female sally light foot crab (you can tell by her underside to carry the eggs) and the oyster catcher with a baby]
Also saw iguanas fighting, fur sea lions nipping at iguana tails and playing with each other.
[Fighting iguanas and playful fur sea lions]
Super cool! That night, we had cocktails to celebrate our last night together, and to present speeches. It was sad that after a whole week together, we know we’ll probably never see each other again!
[The Samba family & Crew]
I also got some great sunset shots in Bartolome!
[Bartolome]
Day 7 – Eaaaaarrrrrly rise at 5:45am on our last day to go to Tortuga Cove. We saw the turtles, baby tintureras, and even a turtle gang-bang!
[Turtle orgy & baby tintoreras]
We arrived in Baltra greeted by some more lazy sea lions.
Gordon Rocks! Well, this is the holy grail for divers in Galapagos to see the hammerheads, and I was lucky enough to have been able to dive there before I left, and boy did I see hammerheads!
[Scorpion fish, spotted eagle ray]
[Hammerheads and a sea lion]
Goodbye Galapagos! Well, I had about 7 despedidas (most of which I’ve posted pictures for on Facebook). First was to say goodbye to my Quito friends, as they were headed back earlier than I was leaving.
Next, the owners of my house and their kids with some other former students hosted a gathering with some snacks and presented me with an excellent gift of a hammerhead necklace (which earlier in the evening I was actually contemplating buying)!
[Jashua, me, Byron, Camila, Mateo]
The next day, I had dinner with my dear friend Malena as she headed to Quito as well. Subsequently, I had lunch withe the spa crew (Marie-Lou, Maribel and Gaby), dinner with Antonius, and met the Arturos for cake.
[Matias Arturo and me]
Finally, I had the big bang at Bongo, yes, that is a surprise I know. It was amazing to discover how integrated I became, but at the same time, that’s what made it so sad to leave.
[#1 Mauricio, me, Marlene & Friedeman; #2 Paola, Tamara, (new friend who's name I don't recall), me and Case]
[#1 Me with Christina and Dave; #2 Case, me, Gaby and her friend]
When I told people that I was leaving, the first question was always, “when are you coming back?” I had a hard time answering this, so I think my goal will be to get more dives under my belt, and money in my pocket and the plan is to hit Darwin & Wolf in 5 years!
Guayaquil! Arrival on the continent was relatively uneventful, and that’s where it ended, at the airport. I checked into what turned out to be a repulsive hotel (Pacifico Hostelling) recommended as clean and simple by Lonely Planet (I will be sure to write to the editor on this). Why was it so bad, you may ask? Well, it was barely tolerable when the only problems were that the only windows were to the garage, allowing for the rude announcement of every car coming and going by the abrupt sound of the gate opening & closing, or that when the lights were out, they flickered, or that pouring a bottle of water on my head was more effective than the shower, but the deal breaker was when I woke up to the morning chocking on carbon monoxide from the garage. That was it, I was checking out that morning and checked myself back into Hotel 9 de Octubre (where I stayed when I first arrived). I thought this was an upgrade, and as far as the room is concerned, it is 100% better…however, the service here is crap! Why, you ask? Well, it’s not a short story, so here it goes… flashback sequence starts here:
Thursday (day 1), I met my friend, Jose, for my first McDonald’s meal in over 7 months. Wow, was it delicious (and not that you asked, but no aftereffects)! As we were walking around the Malecon 2000, I was inquiring about the safety of the area as my friend Lauren had just emailed me about her boyfriend (from Loja but working on a boat in the Malecon) who was robbed at gunpoint. Jose calmly tried to reassure me that I’m in the center and there are more cops than tourists. Shortly after that, he received a phonecall, after which he kept calling me a witch (tú eres una bruja!). I inquired why, and he told me the call was from his friend Klever (ironically or coincidentally from Loja also), who just got home from getting a haircut, after which he and other friends were all robbed at gunpoint. Great, he thinks I put a hex on him! So I after numerous denials of being a witch, he later introduced me to Klever, who volunteered to be my guide/translator. It’s worth noting that Klever speaks not a word of English (while Jose does know some). Great, so ok, I have to really dig deep into what I learned in Galapagos to understand and speak Spanish. Yeah, I can do this!
Friday (day 2), after waking up to car fumes, I called Klever’s house in the morning to plan our meeting to change my hotel and go to immigration. I waited over an hour. When he finally rang (I couldn’t call him, he had no phone!), he said he got lost and thought I was in some other hotel (mind you, he lives about a 15 minute walk away). Ok, fine. He helped me move my 5 bags from the crap hotel, into Hotel 9 de Octubre. Room is clean, has AC, TV, great. We had breakfast, encebollado (fish soup, hot and with spicy ají). It was good, although not really my thing first thing in the morning, more like a lunchtime meal. Off to immigration. I understood nearly everything, and what I didn’t get, Klever patiently explained in grade 2 level Spanish. The point was, I needed to pay the multa (the $200 fine from when I was illegal between my tourist and volunteer visas-I made sure the school gave me the $ before I left Galapagos) and a few documents, some, which I had, and others I had to print or copy, but all documents were in my possession. Fácil! After collecting said documents, we headed to the mall to try and find a few items I need for my travels, and here I paid the multa (yes, here you pre-pay fines and charges direct into the recipients’ accounts). Ok, so after we returned back to immigration later that day, we were told that I needed one more document (that they neglected to tell us about the FIRST time), evidence that I’m in my hotel. Well, I showed them the facutra (the receipt), but alas, they told us this was not sufficient, they need a certificate from the hotel. Easy, right? Back at the hotel, we ask for the manager, but he/she was gone for the day, and we should return tomorrow at about 10am. Ok, no worries…it’s only downstairs from my room, right? That night, we’d planned to get together, the 3 of us, but alas, I fell asleep and my phone mysteriously shut itself off. I only woke up to hear the amazing thunderstorm, and back to sleep again.
Saturday (day 3). Again I was caught waiting on Klever, who, as I later found out, not only tried my vodka/coke w/lime drink, but drank it all night with his friends polishing off 2 bottles of vodka, so I imagine he was suffering in the morning. In the end, it made no difference as the hotel manager was not in when expected, but would be in by 1pm. Ok, I took the time to walk around the area, check out the Malecón, then inquired with Jose on the whereabouts of his good friend. He agreed to meet me at 1p as he’d heard nothing from Klever. 1pm came and went without sign of a manager. I’d have to wait until Monday. Ok, no problem, I need my yellow fever vaccine though, so let’s do that! Klever finally caught up with us, and we headed to the clinic, or wherever the vaccination place was, oops, it was closed! Ok, so let’s go to the Malecon and have a drink. From here, the boys walked me back to my hotel, tranquilo day, and they would call me that night for to go out for a drink. Famous last words, never heard a peep from them, and later found out that they both fell asleep (reeling from the night before, presumably).
Sunday (day 4). I wrote off this day, because nothing is open and no one works Sunday. Spent time on the internet, and catching up on photo editing, etc.
Monday (day 5). This was it, the manager was to be in at 9am, and Klever was going to meet me at 8:30am. I bet you can guess what happened…yes, I was stood up by both! In fact, I didn’t hear from Klever for hours, and I was told that he was doing some work for Jose (some stories these boys tell!). Since I knew not to wait for Klever or the manager, I took it upon myself to seek out my vaccine. I found a doctor nearby, which was a gamble as he too was mentioned in the Lonely Planet book. As it turned out, he’s 80 years old, and was dying to tell me about his adventures in England and New York. He also told me about his surgeries (quadruple bypass, and pacemaker installation). He was also sure to include the information on the insurance coverage’s and whatnot. He told me several times how he’s 80 years old, and doesn’t want to live anymore. It wasn’t said in a morbid way, but simply in a way that meant he had done what he wanted in life, and he’s ready! After these stories, and giving me very detailed scripts and instructions, he gave me his cell # if I was in the jungle and had any problems at all (like he’ll be alive in 2 weeks LOL!) Nice guy, and told me to be careful with the cab drivers as they like to take advantage of gringos, and then asked me for $30 (this was normal for Galapagos, but I think it was a rip off here). I was in the pharmacy asking if they were certain that 9 malaria pills was enough when the Rx said 12, yet I needed 20 diarrhea pills, and no, I don’t want the doctor prescribed 6 bottles of Pedialite, I have to carry that crap around Ecuador, when Klever finally called me. He was at the hotel. Right, HE can wait for ME this time! haha Back at the hotel, shocking that the manager was still not there! Ok, fine, we went to the artists market, and walked around, ate some empanadas and back at the hotel, still no manager. We can’t even get a straight answer on whether the manager is a man or a woman! I’m asking if Klever or Jose have any friends in hotels that can provide me a certificate, or how we can get a declaration saying I’m living in his house notarized ($35 to notarize, we’re told!) Klever and I met his lawyer friend, Hernan, for advice. He had none, really, but had a sweet car with hydraulics, and was nice enough to take us to the hospital of infectious disease for my vaccine. Cool! After we were dropped off, we found out that the hospital no longer carried the vaccine and that we’d have to go to some other location (ironically very near the artists’ market), however it’s after 3pm now, and it closes at 2pm, I’d have to wait until Tuesday. Wow, could this be any more tiring of a day w/o getting a SINGLE thing accomplished!? Ok, yes, I got the malaria and diarrhea pills. Back at the hotel, nothing changed, except my attitude. I’m no longer patient, accepting of “South American” ways. This was ridiculous, and I used what few words I knew to tell the receptionist how angry I was, and that it was unacceptable, and that I’m their client, and wow, that must be a great job to be the boss when you don’t even have to come to work for 4 days! It got ugly, although I still don’t know enough curse words in Spanish to use them w/o getting laughed at, so I refrained and kept it clean. I was exhausted (not only from running around, but it’s hot as hell here!), and at this point, Klever and I were contemplating falsifying the document, stealing the logo and creating our own letter. At this point, I thought, this is crazy! Last thing I need to do is get caught in a fraud case on my holiday! Ok, so I decided it was worth going back to immigration and throwing myself on the mercy of the clerk to say that we tried to get the certificate, but the hotel hasn’t been helpful. And guess what, it worked! I think he saw the frustration, and the tearing in my eyes and broke down and as he was laminating the censo card he tells us, this is the last card, after this, I can’t produce any more censos. Por fin, buena suerte! Éxito! This was cause for celebration. Klever and I stopped by the market and bought limes, vodka and coke, and went back to the hotel where Jose met us with some ice. I was showing my pictures from Galapagos, and then Klever got an invite to a birthday party at someone’s house around the corner (mind you, this is a Monday!). We headed over about 11pm, and it was happening! At some point, Klever and I made a bet (bottle of each vodka and coke) about whether or not he’d be at my hotel at 7:30am as he promised to take me to the medical center for the vaccine by 8am. It was a sure thing on my end, regardless of whether or not he was drinking! As I was trying to leave with Jose, I got caught talking to 2 girls that work in tourism, one was telling me the history of 9 de Octubre and Guayaquil (mostly in Spanish, but partly in English). Her friend occasionally and rudely interrupted her, which made the story take longer to tell. In the end, I gave them my email address, and we parted ways. I was pretty happy about how much I did understand, however I still am limited on my comprehension, leading to a lot of dumb nodding and smiling. No one caught on, however, thanks to Monday night party fever! Haha
[Klever, Jose, me and Guilliermo]
Tuesday (day 6). I won the bet! Fortunately, Jose arranged for another friend, Guillermo, whom I met last night, to meet and take me to the medical center. He called me at 9:15, and said, I’ll be there in an hour. To my great surprise, he arrived at 10:15. I came out just in time, as a policeman was trying to give him a ticket, I pleaded that it was my fault and I’m sure the only reason he gave him a break was for me being the stupid gringa. The vaccine process was MUCH easier than the censo. Went to the bank to deposit the $10 fee (which I later found out should have been free because I’m going to the Oriente), and voila, I got the shot and the certificate, and I’m done by 11am! Why couldn’t it all be that easy!? I'm going to take a break, then get back to planning my travel for the next 3 weeks! Hope you all enjoyed this latest, most verbose edition!
